Cheer Camp
by omgitskee
Summary: The summer before her Freshman year in a new town, a made-over Lucy Quinn Fabray goes to cheer camp. There, she befriends Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce, and a few of the boys from the football camp across the lake. Headcanon. Unholy Trinity. Fuinn.
1. Chapter 1

Quinn Fabray sat in the passenger seat of her mother's car, her duffel bag in her lap, and her tennis shoes squeaking together nervously. She'd spent her entire life as a chubby, near-sighted, crooked-nosed outcast, and now that she was…well, in her eyes, pretty…she really didn't know how to handle it. She'd spent all last year taking gymnastics and ballet, and just a few weeks ago did she finally get her braces off and contact lenses. Her nose was finally healed from the plastic surgery, too. Lucy Caboosey was no longer that freakish little girl…She was Quinn Fabray, now. A size-four athletic fourteen-year-old girl who was finally pretty.

"…What if they don't like me?" She asked her mother, who was intent on driving. Judy Fabray's eyebrows furrowed before she took a look at her daughter.

"Lucy, why wouldn't they like you?" she asked, putting a hand on Quinn's knee. "You're smart, funny, gorgeous…" Quinn rolled her eyes. The classic mom motivational speech. But this was something foreign to her…Quite literally. Since the move, Quinn was the new girl in town. All of these girls she was going to come across at this Lima cheer camp would have known each other since kindergarten, or earlier. Most of them would have been cheerleading since they could walk…This was new territory for Quinn, the gymnast-ballerina. But if she wanted to continue the Fabray women streak of being on their high school cheerleading squad, Quinn would have to do it. Besides, it would be a great way to make friends before showing up, new and friendless, at McKinley High.

She shook her head. "They're all going to be grouped up into pre-established cliques, mom. No one's going to want to be my friend. You've said it yourself- cheerleaders are vicious." This earned a chuckle from Judy.

"Keep your head up, kid, and keep those teeth shining. Because if you have the confidence, _everyone_ will want to be your friend." Quinn smirked at her mother's advice, and anxiously wrapped a lock of reddish-brown hair around her index finger. It was a nervous habit.

The car turned into a gravel parking lot, and Quinn was immediately in awe. The camp was so gorgeous, and so…summer camp-y. It had a dozen cabins lined up in rows, and an open grassy plain for the teams to practice on. The few big buildings were probably for administration and the cafeteria. And if you looked far enough, you could see the glimmer of Indian sparkling in the summer sun. All of Quinn's anxiety seemed to wash away with the mist of the water coming in through her open car window. Judy parked, and waited there with her daughter for a while.

"Want me to get out with you?" the blonde asked, turning to Quinn. Quinn shook her head slowly, unsure, and gave her mother a hug.

"Bye, mom." she said into Judy's shoulder. Her mother embraced her back, and patted her hair.

"Bye, baby. Have a good time. Call every night, and if you want to come home tell me. Alright?" Given Quinn's past with bullying, Judy was always conscious of her youngest daughter in social situations.

Quinn gave a nod, and clutched the handle of her duffle in her right hand. Her mom kissed her on the cheek, and popped the trunk open for Quinn to get the rest of her luggage. She stepped out of the car, her tennis shoe crunching on the gravel, and her pale legs tingling in the summer sun. Perhaps it would have been a better idea to tan before showing up to cheer camp in a pair of cotton shorts. She grabbed her two suitcases out of the trunk before slamming it shut.

Weighed down by her luggage, Quinn passed the passenger seat of her mother's car window, and waved a sad goodbye. Sleep-away camp would be hard…especially in this new, strange town, where she would know no one.

As she got further into the area, she could see what seemed like hundreds of other girls scattered about the camp. A woman stood at the entrance of the camp with a clipboard in hand, and a baseball cap shadowing her face from the sun.

"Name?" she asked as Quinn approached.

"Quinn Fabray." she said, nodding. She had to get used to being called Quinn, now. Ever since changing her look, she didn't want to be Lucy. She associated Lucy with Lucy Caboosey. The woman looked up and down the clipboard, and marked by Quinn's name.

"Alright, Fabray." she said, pulling out a red paper bracelet. The kind you would get at a carnival. Funny, Quinn _felt _like she was in an amusement park. "You're in the McKinley cabins." The brochure had said that the cabins and teams would be divided up by schools in the district. "They're the ones with the red flags. Carmel high is blue, Jane Addams is gold, Thurston is grey. You can hang out outside your cabins and your coach will be there soon to assign your roommates. Alright?"

Quinn gave a quick nod before heading in. The stupid red paper bracelet was already itching. She'd put it on too tight. The entire site was full of incoming high school freshmen gearing up to be on their school's elite cheer squad. Quinn was going to be apart of this…

There were about twenty girls hanging out outside the McKinley cabins. None of them were all too intimidating. In fact, Quinn felt like she was fitting in a bit. That was, until the coach showed up.

Coach Sylvester was a tall, statuesque woman with a blonde bob and a perfectly tailored red Adidas track suit. A few of the girls quickly scuttled to the front and lined up in perfect rows. As any good new girl would do, Quinn followed. As soon as Coach Sylvester walked into the scene, the relaxed atmosphere tensed up, and all of the girls stood ten feet taller. Quinn was standing so straight, he back was practically arched.

"Alright, ladies." the coach all but shouted. "I'm Sue Sylvester. I coach the McKinley High Cheerios. And in about three seconds after I say this, going down this line, you will all be expected to do five round-off back handsprings across this grass. Three..two…" The girls like Quinn who clearly didn't know miss Sue Sylvester shook with fear and asked questions like, 'Is she serious? Oh my God.', while the girls who had made some bargain with the devil seemed as if they expected nothing less, and were perfectly composed and complied.

As it went down the line, the girls tumbled across the grass, some successfully, some…not. When it came to be Quinn's turn, she imagined herself in gymnastics, and not in this foreign cheer camp. Back handsprings were a no-brainer when she imagined the blue mat below her bare feet.

She moved effortlessly across the grass, and stuck the landing, earning a nod of approval from coach Sylvester.

"Now, girls. If you couldn't do that, get the hell out of my sight. Because if you think that's hard, try having to coach a bunch of girls who think I can turn them into National-Champion Cheerios overnight." A large portion of the girls seemed so broken already, and like they could run out at any second, but Quinn kept herself composed. "Now…" Coach Sylvester flipped through her clipboard, and went through the role. "There will be three girls per cabin." Quinn waited anxiously for her name as she called out the roommates. Then finally, "Santana Lopez, Brittany Pierce, and Quinn Fabray in room M3."

Quinn strained her neck to see who her roommates could be. Any of these girls could be Brittany Pierce, but only a few seemed like they could be Santana Lopez. But it wasn't until Quinn saw the two girls jumping with joy at the fact that they were roomed together. The first was tall, blonde, and blue-eyed, and the other was shorter and Latina. Fan-freaking-tastic. It was Quinn's worst nightmare- getting roomed with girls who were already the best of friends. She'd be isolated and alone, just like in elementary school. Some things never change.

Once the girls were dismissed to their cabins, Quinn took her time heading to M3. Mostly because she didn't want to meet her roommates, and partly because she was weighed down by her luggage. Her tennis shoes crunched on the dirt and sticks beneath her as she approached the door. The cabins from the outside were so stereo typically summer-camp. They were like small wooden houses, with a tiny porch in the front and a red flag sticking out of the roof. It was kind of endearing.

Quinn opened the screen door and stepped into the cabin. Brittany Pierce and Santana Lopez were sitting criss-cross on the floor, speaking teenage girl speak all too fast for Quinn to catch up with. They hadn't even noticed she had come in the room until she dropped her suitcase on the floor.

Brittany's head was the first to snap into Quinn's direction. She stood, her ponytail swinging behind her, and her long legs took swift dancers' strides as she made her way across the room. "You must be Quinn!"

Quinn gave a nod, eyeing the tall blonde. "You're…Brittany?" she asked. Brittany nodded.

"I love the color of your hair." she took a lock of Quinn's red-brown hair and played with it in a childish manner. Brittany had this all-around childish whimsy about her that Quinn could pick up on right away.

Santana stood in the middle of the room and slowly made her way to the two girls.

"I'm Santana." she interrupted, before Quinn could respond to Brittany's compliment. "To cut to the chase, I'm a bad bitch." Upon hearing the word, Quinn clutched her cross necklace. She was raised in a religious household and cursing was most definitely not the biggest sin she could commit, but Santana's overall demeanor was simply unholy…yet kind of charming.

Quinn gave a slightly awkward chuckle. "I don't doubt that for a second." she smiled to Santana. Santana smirked back, and Brittany nearly jumped through the roof, clapping. The look on her face said that she was expecting to befriend Quinn and have loads of peppy fun at cheer camp, now that Quinn had Santana's approval. "So…" Quinn decided to cut to the chase. "How long have you two been friends?"

Santana and Brittany shared a knowing glance, something that Quinn probably wouldn't be able to decipher until the end of the summer. Maybe even later.

"Kindergarten." Santana said, holding out her pinky. Brittany did the same, and they linked fingers tightly, with Quinn just staring.

"Oh. Well, I just moved here." she said, trying to remain casual. She thought of the lineup when Coach Sylvester first presented herself to the girls. Brittany and Santana were the first to snap to attention, which was funny, because coach Sylvester coached at a high school. How would they know? "What are the odds that you'd be put in the same room? If I didn't know better, I'd say you made some sort of pact with the coach."

Santana nodded. "She came and scouted us at our middle school. Britts and I were only the best of the best at Lima Jr. High." Quinn nodded. So it was kind of like a bargain with the devil.

"…She was always creeping around our practices and I thought she was a secret agent. I still think she's a secret agent, but even more secret." Brittany said. Quinn started to laugh, until she realized that Brittany had said it with the utmost seriousness. Quinn shared a glance with Santana, who simply gave her a protective glare. She was testing her. Brittany was clearly not the brightest crayon in the box, and by not laughing at her best friend, Santana was scoping her out to see if she'd be worthy of their friendship. Because Brittany-isms, as they would now be called, clearly happened more than often.

"Um….is the cafeteria open?" Quinn asked, holding her head high and keeping her smile on her face, just as her mother had advised. No better way to avoid conflict than to avert the conversation, right? "I'm starved."

"You think you're starved now?" Santana chuckled. "Wait until you're on the Sue Sylvester diet."

Quinn hadn't had a clue what she was getting herself into when she signed up for this cheer camp, but now that she was on the course, this journey didn't seem like it would be stopping any time soon.


	2. Chapter 2

Her tennis shoes crunching on the ground beneath her feet, Quinn slowed to a stop in front of her cabin. It was six in the morning, when most girls were encouraged to get up, but she'd taken the initiative and gone for an early-morning jog around the camp. It was so peaceful when there weren't other girls jumping around and doing herkies and toe touches about the grounds. Quinn stayed with her hands on her knees, taking a few deep breaths to gather herself before going inside. Santana and Brittany could be still sleeping, and she'd hate to wake them…well, she'd hate to wake Santana.

She stretched a few times, and caught a glance from across the lake. There was a boy…tall, baby-faced, with black hair, wearing red gym shorts and tossing a football. He and Quinn's eyes locked. For a second, she wondered if she had something on her face or in her teeth…but then, she realized that from all the way across the camp, he probably wouldn't be able to see anything that small. The boy gave her a smile, and she smiled back, thankful for those two years of braces. And in a split second, he was back to tossing the football.

Quinn smirked to herself. Boys had never really looked at her like that before…But oh well. It was just a boy. Who knows- she may never see him again. Quinn took a few steps up the stairs, opened the screen door, and walked inside, only to find her roommates sitting criss-cross on the floor like she had on her first day. As always, they were in their own little world.

"You're a sight for sore eyes, Q." Santana commented, looking up from whatever she and Brittany were doing. Quinn pulled her elastic out of her hair and let down her messy ponytail, shaking her red tresses out, feeling the sweat cool on her scalp.

"Why is that?" she asked before taking off her shoes and joining them on the floor. Between the two girls was a Lima Jr. High yearbook, open to the Class of '08 eighth grade page.

"Twenty McKinley girls already cried to mommy and left. And fourteen Carmel girls." Santana rolled her eyes. Honestly, Quinn couldn't blame them.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "But it's only the second week." she said, placing her chin on her palm.

"Coach Sylvester's being nice this year." Brittany chimed in. "I hear last year, forty girls dropped out in the first week."

And Quinn thought she was breathless after finishing her run. That nearly knocked the breath out of her. "….Oh. So…" she began, eager to change the subject, "…whatcha doing?"

Santana shook her head. "Oh, nothing. Just…middle school stuff."

Brittany shrugged. "We should show Quinn, too! She's going to high school with us in the fall."

Santana gave a smirk. "True. And I guess we could let her know what she'll be up against."

"Oh, and we're planning on sneaking across the lake later to the football camp." Brittany said. The look Santana gave her made it clear that that wasn't meant to be told to Quinn. She was only slightly offended. I mean, she had only been their roommate for two weeks. But was it really too much to think she'd be included in their secret plans by now?

Santana rolled her eyes, and held the yearbook in front of Quinn. "Alright, these are all the confirmed McKinley Freshman Class of '08 that we know." she flipped a few pages, landing on the P-Q page.

"Noah Puckerman." Santana declared. "But don't go near him. He's mine. At least…he will be in time for Homecoming." Quinn took a good look at the boy. He had a curly mohawk, olive skin, and piercing green eyes. She could see why Santana was into him. He looked like he was about twenty, and he was what- fourteen? Fifteen at the oldest? The smirk on his face said that he was almost constantly up to something. And she could tell that he probably was.

Brittany got hold of the pages and flipped them back towards the beginning. Santana's expression was both expectant and annoyed.

"Mike Chang." Brittany said, pointing to a picture of an Asian boy with a crooked smile. "We met at hip hop classes in sixth grade."

Santana rolled her eyes. "Brittany's been crushing on him ever since."

"Why not? He's hot and he can make me sushi whenever I want. What's not to love?" Brittany chuckled. But something told Quinn she was completely serious about the sushi thing.

Santana snatched the yearbook back, and was on her way to the R section, but Quinn's eyes caught glimpse of a baby-faced black-haired boy. "Stop." she said. Santana's brow furrowed, but she stopped anyway. In the H section. It was the boy from the football camp. "Who's that?" Quinn asked, pointing to him, though she could see his name under his photo. Finn Hudson.

"Finn Hudson." Santana grimaced. "Six-foot-two, and growing. Awkward, two left feet, except on the football field. I'm convinced he is Frankenstein's monster reincarnated."

Quinn didn't think he looked awkward at all…he looked rather cute, actually.

"Your names rhyme!" Brittany exclaimed. Quinn gave a smile. They did. It was kind of like fate…Well, cheated fate, since she wasn't born Quinn, but…

Santana rolled her eyes. "Moving on." she flipped through the yearbook, going back into the seventh grade section.

"Ooh, 'Tana, show her Artie." Brittany said. Santana stopped in the A section, and held the book out to Quinn. "He was in an accident in the third grade that turned him into a robot."

"….Wheelchair." Santana explained. Honestly, Quinn couldn't take her mind off of Finn Hudson. But this Artie kid was interestingish. "He's our age, but he won't be at McKinley 'til next year. Therefor, you don't need to worry about him just yet. Besides, I doubt that one year is going to magically turn him into a football-playing stud, so why bother?"

Quinn couldn't help but wonder where this whole "Cheerleaders dating footballers" thing came from. And how. It seems to be a tale as old as time, and only the most stereotypical thing ever. But why.

"So when we sneak into the football camp, Finn's going to be there, too?" Quinn asked nonchalantly.

"Ugh." Santana groaned. "Are we still on Finnocence? Everything about him scuh-reams virgin. Why would anyone want to be with a beached walrus?" Quinn made a reach for her cross necklace once again. Oh boy. So she was around that group of kids. At her old middle school, the kids who were sexually active were judged and ridiculed. Not by Quinn, of course, but they were. Here, they were praised?

"…Oh." was all Quinn said, fingering her rosary some more. Santana then raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't lost your V-Card yet either, have you?" she asked with a sinister tone. Quinn stammered….would now be a time to lie?

She shrugged. "No. I'm um.." she cleared her throat, "…I'm waiting until I'm married."

Santana and Brittany both giggled. "That's so cute." Santana pouted, stifling her laughter. "Good luck with that for four more years."

Quinn wasn't sure what that meant, but she was pretty certain of her vow to chastity. High school couldn't be _that _corrupt, right?

"I'm so excited!" Brittany exclaimed, dancing on the floor. "I can't wait to see the guys. And introduce Quinnie to Finnie. We can be like cupid, San!"

Santana threw herself backward onto the floor next to her friend. "Whatever. I just want to see Puckerman."

"….This means I get to come too…" Quinn said cautiously.

"Whatever." Santana said once again. Quinn was incapable of suppressing her grin. She laid down next to the two girls, smiling up at the ceiling. The three girls laid in silence until the blaring voice of Coach Sylvester came in over the loud speaker.

"McKinley girls, get your butts to the gym. Be there in thirty seconds or I will leak piranha into the lake and force you to swim your way away from them."

Quinn, Brittany, and Santana exchanged humored glances, then jumped up and sprinted toward the gym. Because knowing coach Sylvester, that piranha thing was probably true.


	3. Chapter 3

"Alright ladies, you're dismissed." Coach Sylvester shouted through her bull horn. "Tomorrow we'll be working on aerials. Stunts, jumps, the whole shabang. That's when the real tests start."

Quinn's chest heaved. They'd been running, dancing, doing kicks for three whole hours. All she wanted to do right now was sleep...Then, she felt her stomach growl so hard, it was practically snapping its jaws. Scratch that- all she wanted to do was eat. The diet Coach Sylvester had the girls on was a mix of protein shakes and salads. How was Quinn supposed to survive? She made her way out of the gymnasium door, but was soon approached by her roommates.

"You still in for the...plan?" Santana asked mischievously. She seemed completely unphased by the intense workout. As did Brittany.

Until now, Quinn had completely forgotten about the plan to swim across the lake to the football camp. Did she really want to swim over there on tired legs and an empty stomach? Her belly let out yet another gurgle.

Santana pulled a sweaty cell phone out of her sports bra, and dangled it in front of Quinn's face. "Puckerman tells me he smuggled some candy bars into his cabin. Whaddaya say, Q?" Quinn could just taste the savory chocolate of a Snickers bar. She was definitely in.

The three made their way to their cabin to grab all the necessities- swimsuits for one, and war makeup for theatrics. Quinn had never been around other girls in a bikini until now. She was so self-conscious and ashamed of her old body...But now, she felt hot. Still the heaviest of the three girls (Santana a petite size two, and Brittany a tall, lanky size two), Quinn felt fit. The only thing...was that boys would be seeing her, too. That was something to worry about.

"Let's take a picture. It's going on Myspace." Santana propsed. She grabbed her camera, held it out in front of the three girls, and told them to "put on their bad bitch faces". Quinn furrowed her brows and pursed her lips, trying to look as tough as a fourteen-year-old girl could in a pink swimsuit and war makeup beneath her eyes.

Brittany was all-too excited to go on this little adventure. As soon as the flash went off, she grabbed Quinn and Santana by the wrists and quickly ran out the door. From the side of their cabin, the three girls scoped out the lake. There was no one in it, on either side of the border, which meant no life guards at the time. That was good. But it also meant more of a chance of them getting caught. The three girls tiptoed, barefoot across the dirt ground beneath them, trying not to step on twigs or bugs. Quinn felt a distinct squelch beneath her foot, but passed it off. Internally, she was gagging- was it a worm? A caterpillar? But on the outside, she was made of stone. Finally, they reached the edge of the water. After looking both ways as if crossing a street to be sure of no one there to see them, they all dove in individually. First, Santana, then Brittany, then Quinn.

The three swam across as fast as they could, seeing the camp on the other side get bigger and bigger the closer they got to it. Boys were tossing a football at the edge of the water, and the only boy to notice the three figures moving toward them was a dark-skinned boy, who stood next to...it was one of the boys from the yearbook. The one Brittany liked...Mike Chang! As the water got shallow, Quinn noticed she'd trailed pretty far behind the other two girls. Swimming was not one of her strong points. She could finally stop stroking now, and walked her way up to the shore.

By the time she set foot on the grass, Santana was already schmoozing Noah Puckerman.

"Get us some towels, Puckerman." she demanded.

"I don't have to do what you say." he responded, assertively. The two were now in a glare-off. No wonder Santana had her eye on him...he was the male version of her.

Quinn stood off to the side with slight awkwardness, crossing her arms, her teeth chattering. Before she could walk over to her friends, she felt a towel being placed over her shoulders. Her green eyes widened before she turned her head to face the person who'd done it to thank them.

She came face-to-face (well, more like face-to-chest) with the tall, six-foot two and growing boy, Finn Hudson.

"Thanks." she said, twirling a lock of wet hair around her finger. Finn gave a crooked smile.

He gave a silent shrug before making his way over to Santana and Brittany, handing them towels, too.

"See, Puck? Finnocence over here is a gentleman. And what does that make you? A lowlife." Santana quipped as she wrapped the towel around her chest. Puck rolled his hazel eyes. Quinn looked around to find Finn and hopefully talk, but he'd disappeared.

"You're ridiculous. How can you expect me to know anything? I'm fourteen." At that, Santana merely walked away, swaying her hips beneath the towel, silently making him want her more. God, Quinn thought. I could learn a thing or two from her.

Just then, Qunn noticed Puck acknowledge her existence. He held an arm out, reaching out toward Quinn's shoulders. "And I'm the rude one. You didn't even bother to introduce us to your friend." Quinn gulped. His arm was around her shoulders. She could smell his sweaty armpits. She probably wouldn't be this uncomfortable if it wasn't so clear that he was using her to make Santana jealous.

Santana glared. Quinn could've broken out into a cold sweat. "That's Quinn. She's our roommate. Get your paws off her. She's allergic to assholes."

"Ouch, 'Tana, that hurt." Puck said sarcastically, but complied anyway. Quinn huriedly made her way toward a nearby tree. Maybe she could sit against it and blend into it like those moths that adapted to the color of the trees she learned about in Biology. Quinn sat criss-cross against the trunk of the tree, fiddling with grass and observing the canoodling before her. She could see Brittany whisper something to Mike Chang, who then tapped Puck on the shoulder and nodded his head the opposite direction. Puck propsed whatever idea it was to Santana, who gladly complied. Quinn would have bet anything that they ran off to go make out.

She felt a body sit down beside her. Finn? Quinn lifted her head, only to find Mike Chang's unnamed friend.

"I'm Matt. Matt Rutherford. And you're...?" He held out a hand and held up an eyebrow. This was clearly a 'make out with me around my friends' type of introduction.

"Quinn." she shook his hand uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact.

"Well, our friends went over behind some of the-" Before he could finish, Quinn decided to squash whatever presumption he had right this second.

"I think I'll just stay here, thanks." she said through a tight, stern smile. Slapped with the hand of rejection, Matt walked away. Quinn let out a large sigh. Why had she come here? To meet people...and boy, was she meeting people. On one side of the lake, she was friends with the most popular girls in the camp, and was looked at as this new, exotic fruit on the Lima tree of teenage social life. It was strange. On the other side of the lake, she was some sort of object used by boys to make other girls jealous or to make out with behind some cabins. Was she ever Quinn Fabray to any of them?

Quinn began to pull up grass to cure her boredom. "What have you gotten yourself into, Lucy?" she muttered to herself.

"I thought your name was Quinn." she heard. Quinn jumped. Her head jerked up to find Finn carefully placing himself beside her. Composing herself, Quinn brushed some of the pulled dirt off of her hands and took a deep breath.

"It is." she nodded, "I was talking about...someone...else." Quinn gulped, taking a tress of red hair around her finger. Finn chuckled, knowking she wasn't telling the complete truth.

"I'm Finn." he stated, placing his hands on his knees and drumming on them awkwardly. "...Our names rhyme." Quinn chuckled. That was what Brittany had said.

"They do! What a coincidence." Quinn sighed, leaning her head on the trunk of the tree. She could feel a headache coming along. One of Finn's long, lanky arms reached out to take Quinn around the shoulders.

"You alright? You look a little...weird." he commented.

Quinn smirked. "Wow, thanks." she said sarcastically. "It's just a headache, I'm fine." Just then, Santana came storming back out from behind the cabins, followed by Puck.

"Puckerman, you prick!" she shouted behind her, tossing her towel behind her, and smacking Puck smack-dab in the face with it. "Britt, we're leaving." she demanded. Brittany moonwalked from behind a cabin with Mike Chang. The two had clearly been doing no more than having a dance-off back there. Quinn couldn't help but laugh, no matter how much it hurt her head.

Finn gave his crooked smile. "Well, looks like you're leaving, huh?" Quinn modestly looked down at her knees, then back up at Finn.

"Looks like it." she sighed.

Finn gave a nod, and slowly retracted his arm from her shoulders. "I'll see you...around, then." he said, avoiding eye contact.

"Around." Quinn agreed, standing. She hadn't even noticed that Santana and Brittany were already well into the lake, swimming back to camp. Quinn gave Finn one final wave, and followed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi, all! I know, I know, you probably hate looking at me because I totally abandoned this story. Well, I was getting all nostalgic and decided that I was going to resurrect it! I had so many great ideas to document Quinn Fabray's rise to status, I figured they may as well have been shared. **

She didn't stop thinking of Finn all night, and into the next day, carrying on for days and weeks, her mind hopelessly taken over by this tall manchild with a boyish smile and overall awesomeness. Quinn thought of him on her morning jogs, hoping that one day she'd see him across the lake again. She thought of him in the dining hall, wondering what he was eating for lunch. She thought of him at practice, all of a sudden loving the football player/cheerleader dynamic.

This particular practice, two weeks after swimming across the lake, Quinn found herself in a lineup of girls all in matching t-shirts and cotton shorts. The numbers had dwindled drastically, leaving only the best of the best (and Quinn) there standing before Coach Sylvester, as she paced in front of them, her sneakers squeaking against the linoleum floor.

"We are going to get started on aerials this week. For some, this is a make-it-or-break-it week, because, frankly, all of you will be in the air at some point. I don't believe in that 'flyers', 'bases', 'spotters' nonsense. You're all cheerleaders, and you'll all be at least thirty feet in the air at some point in the next four years, got it?"

The low mumble emitted from the girls who, over a course of four weeks, had probably seen it all, so they were unfazed by Coach Sylvester's attitude. The woman took her whistle from around her neck and used it to point to the opposite end of the gym. "That right there is a trampoline. You're going to get on it one-by-one while I shout out orders to you." The girls waited for her to continue, but Coach simply raised her brows. "What are you waiting for?" she demanded. The group of girls jogged to the other end of the room, and a brave soul was the first to take a stand on the trampoline.

"Toe touch." Coach Sylvester shouted, keeping a pen on her clipboard. Quinn watched as the girl, a pretty blonde nervously hopped on the trampoline once, then once more, before touching her toes in the air. She could use some work, but Quinn decided that Coach looked impressed. After she called "next", the next girl came up and was demanded to do a back tuck. Brittany had been assigned a kick arch. Santana had been assigned a full down. One poor blonde girl tumbled off the trampoline and right into a neck injury, resulting in having to wear a neckbrace for a very _very _long time afterward.

Quinn was one of the last to go. Timidly, she hopped onto the trampoline. Coach Sylvester eyed her, and then looked at her clipboard. "Sky splits." She was nervous, yes, but also knew she could do this. Two years of the uneven bars in gymnastics allowed a girl to do the splits any kind of way she wanted. She hopped once, then once more before bounding into the air, and kicking both of her legs out horizontally, going much past a ninety-degree angle. After sticking the landing as best she could on the trampoline, Quinn timidly moved her way back into the crowd. But before she could get nestled in with Brittany and Santana, she heard Coach Sylvester call, "_Fab_ray." She tended to put the emphasis on the first syllable of her last name. "I'm going to start calling you SkySplitz. SkySplitz _Fab_ray."

She felt honored. She looked around and all of the girls had been already looking at her in amazement- No one had gotten a nickname from Coach Sylvester. Was Quinn the first…ever? She tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, and gave a small smile. "Wow, thanks." She chuckled. She got a few looks from happy girls, who were excited to see what nickname they'd get. (Spoiler: None of them got nicknames.) However, she got even more envious glares from girls who wanted to know what was so special about Quinn _Fab_ray.

Was there something special about her? She'd never really thought about that. Sure, Quinn felt special to herself after she got pretty, but she never thought that maybe to other people she'd be special. She was _SkySplitz Fabray_. And that felt freaking awesome.

Once practice was over, Quinn was starved and tried to make a mad dash to her cabin, where Santana and Brittany had smuggled some Snickers bars over from the football camp, thanks to one Noah Puckerman. He'd agreed to bring the candy over by swimming across the lake with them in a plastic bag, in exchange for second base with Santana. At first, the thought kind of disgusted Quinn, but right now, as her stomach was grumbling, it seemed like a fair trade.

"Oh my God. SkySplitz Fabray. Coach Sylvester's never given a nickname to a _Freshman_ before." Brittany had her hand on Quinn's shoulder as the girls walked to their cabin. "Right, San?"

Santana seemed less than thrilled as she filed her nails. "…Yeah, sure."

Quinn clutched her cross necklace and smiled to herself. "Really? I mean, it's weird. Everyone was staring."

"You want 'em to stare." Santana smirked. "That's how you grab life by the balls- make yourself known." The girl was cut off by a screech from their friend once she opened the door to their cabin. Santana ran ahead of Quinn and peered inside, to see what the girl could possibly be screaming about. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" she called inside. The words made Quinn's heart pound. Who was in there? Oh, God.

She hurried behind Santana and, lo and behold, her suspicions had been confirmed. The three football boys sat, perched on their bunkbeds, laying their backs on the floor, leaning against the wall…They were all wet, and all shirtless. And Quinn? She was sweaty, and disgusting, and _starving_. And there Finn was, smiling at her from her bed. Quinn could've died. He couldn't possibly find her attractive like this.

"We wanted to see your humble abode." Puck hopped from Santana's top bunk and landed stealthily on his bare feet. "We also wanted an excuse for you ladies to see us shirtless." He flexed his biceps. Quinn watched Santana roll her eyes and push her way past Puck as she crossed the room to sit on the opposite end of her bed, leaving Finn at least a yard away.

"You guys are gonna get us killed. If Coach finds out…"

The boy scoffed. "I'm surprised Coach Sylvester _hasn't _killed you yet."

"Au contraire." Santana smirked as she lifted her sweaty t-shirt over her head, nonchalantly changing into clean clothes, making every person with a penis in that room drool. "She's actually grown quite fond of Miss SkySplitz over there." She nodded her head to Quinn, who was blushing. She didn't need more attention on her right now- She was too busy trying to look cute for the super attractive sasquatch boy sitting shirtless on her bed.

"Splits?" Puck raised his eyebrows in Quinn's direction, to which she grimaced. In his dreams. Not even if she was hyped up on alcohol or feeling fat. "I'd like to see that."

Santana, now dressed, smacked the boy in the abs, her hand making a loud slapping noise against his wet skin. "Pick your jaw up off the floor, Puckerman. We're cheerleaders- It's kind of a thing we do."

"Yeah, but when I've seen _you_ every day for four years, and I'm about to see you every day for four _more_, certain cheerleaders get kind of old." Quinn could tell by the look on his face that he knew that'd get a rise out of Santana. She watched the girl grit her teeth and punch Puck in the shoulder.

"You're such a tool, you know that? I'm from Lima Heights. I've got boys on _mi barrio_ that will fuck you up if I asked. And believe me- I _will_ ask."

By then, the rest of the room had tuned the two out. Brittany was sitting on the floor, talking to Mike Chang. That left Quinn and Finn, who were just sitting on opposite ends of the same bed, not saying a word.

"I don't think a stupid nickname is that great." He finally piped up. Quinn raised an eyebrow, and turned to him, not really able to say anything back. "I mean…I think you're cool being just Quinn."

"Just Quinn, huh?" she smirked, and moved closer to the boy. "I like that. Just works."She had been saying all summer, every time a family member called her Lucy, that she was 'just Quinn'. It was like he _knew_.

And just like that, the entire mood of the room changed. Almost as if someone had dimmed the lights, and turned on sultry music, everyone was in heat. Loud slurping noises indicated that Santana and Puck were making out against the wall. A quick glance would confirm Quinn's suspicion. She turned her attention to the floor to find Brittany planting small kisses on Mike Chang, leaving her and Finn twiddling their thumbs awkwardly, trying to figure out what to do. Surely, talking would kill the mood for the rest of them, and they barely knew each other enough to kiss.

"So, Just Quinn," Finn said, almost a whisper, ",what brings you to Camp McKinley?" he shrugged, scooting in closer. Quinn responded with a shrug of her own.

"I do gymnastics, I dance, I'm kind of qualified, I guess? I don't know."

"Oh, you weren't a cheerleader in middle school? That's cool. I couldn't really stand our cheerleaders over at Lima Jr. High."

She chuckled, and moved closer to him. "Well high school is going to be different. It'll be…great, I think."

"Yeah? I mean, with those eyes and that hair 'n stuff, you've kind of got prom queen in the bag."

"Prom queen?" Quinn wrinkled her nose. Sure, some little girl's fantasy, but was it really realistic for her? "…I'm not popular."

Finn smirked. "The Cheerios are the most popular girls in school. And if Sylvester already gave you a nickname, I wouldn't be surprised if you got _head _cheerleader. "

Quinn blushed. The boy just kept pumping out compliments, making her dream the impossible. He had no idea she was the biggest loser in her entire town for the duration of her life. He thought that she, Lucy Fabray, was going to be the head cheerleader and prom queen. Finn was perfect. Quinn gulped, and turned to him. What was meant to be one swift motion turned into a jerky, trembling attempt at leaning in to kiss the boy.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" He took her by the shoulders and stopped her mid-pucker. "Are you about to kiss me?"

Quinn didn't know what to say. "…Yes."

Finn was silent for a moment. He looked surprised. But then he uttered a small, "…Sweet."

Slowly, they moved in again. In her impulsive cloud, Quinn hadn't remembered that she'd never kissed a boy before. But now, as they got closer and closer, she couldn't stop thinking that she didn't know what to do. But when their lips met, it felt very natural. So natural. They kissed. And it was…amazing, even though she was gross and sweaty and disgusting.

And they kept kissing. There wasn't much movement, and their hands remained on each other's shoulders, but it was so nice. She'd met this boy twice and was already kissing him. Did that make her a slut? Or worse, a Santana? In that moment, Quinn didn't really care. She'd pray about it later. For that moment, she never wanted it to end.

All three pairs of girls were in for a rude awakening when the door of their cabin flung open. Quinn whipped her head around, leaving Finn kissing her chin, to find Coach Sylvester's tall form standing in the doorway, tall and statuesque, furious.

"Pierce, Lopez, Skysplitz, meet me on the field." She shouted, "And you three football-playing yetis can swim your asses back to camp with the piranhas."

Quinn followed Brittany and Santana shamefully out of the cabin, mortified that they'd gotten caught, but not able to wipe the smile off of her face. She'd just kissed Finn Hudson.


End file.
